The total transaction values of contactless payments made using a smart device processed by retail and commercial clients of South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has increased from R640m (US$43m) in 2020 to “in excess” of R4.2bn (US$3bn) in 2021, the bank reports... More
Archive for March 2022
China updates digital yuan wallet app for Apple users
China has issued an update to the pilot version of its digital yuan wallet app for Apple users that is “adapted to the iOS 15.4 system changes” released this week, and has uncovered an attempt to use the central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a fraud and money laundering case, according to local media reports... More
Average UK contactless transaction value rises by 30%
The value of the average contactless payment made in the UK has risen by 30% since the country increased its contactless spending limit from £45 (US$59) to £100 (US$132) in October last year, according to figures from UK Finance... More
Apple Pay goes live in Argentina and Peru
Apple Pay has launched in Argentina and Peru with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by six banks in Argentina and five in Peru. It has confirmed the service is now live in both countries. More
China to roll out digital ID cards nationwide
China is to roll out a digital version of its national identity card that residents can store and access on their smartphone across the whole country “this year”, the Chinese premier Li Keqiang has told a press briefing... More
Developers to use NFC to give reusable plastic containers unique digital identities
A UK-based consortium is to investigate the use of ultra-low-cost NFC technology to give individual items of reusable plastic packaging a unique digital identity (UDI) in order to track them across each package’s lifecycle, encourage their reuse and enable the development of a scalable packaging-as-a-service infrastructure... More
Rhode Island trials geofenced free contactless ticketing
Passengers using transport services provided by Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) in Central Falls in the US will soon be able to travel for free when they scan their Wave smart transit card or mobile app on services originating and operating within the city... More
Citi to roll out NFC mobile payments to corporate cardholders in 40 countries
Citi Commercial Cards is to enable its business customers in more than 40 markets worldwide to digitise their plastic corporate payment card or provision a virtual card into a mobile wallet and use it to make NFC mobile payments... More
Researchers develop liquid metal microgel ink to print flexible NFC antennas on smart clothing
Researchers at Zhejiang University in China have developed a method of printing flexible electronic circuits onto textiles and other surfaces using recyclable liquid metal microgel (LMM) ink... More
Seattle boutique opens contactless clothing rental store
Customers using Armoire clothing rental store in Seattle in the US can now collect and return fashion items by simply picking them up or leaving them on a table in the store... More
UK government unveils plans for secure and trusted digital identity standards
The UK government is to set up an Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (ODIA) and introduce legislation establishing an accreditation process for organisations handling identity data and making digital IDs “as trusted and secure as official documents such as passports and driving licences”... More
7-Eleven Japan trials holographic contactless self-checkout
Customers at six 7-Eleven convenience stores in Tokyo, Japan, can now make cashless payments for their purchases by interacting with a holographic screen projected from a contactless self-checkout kiosk... More
Libyan bank to pilot biometric payment cards
Mediterranean Bank in Libya will be the first in the country to trial biometric payment cards that enable customers to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprint... More
President Biden lays out US digital currency strategy
US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order (EO) “outlining the first ever, whole-of-government approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the potential benefits of digital assets and their underlying policy” including the possible issuance of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC), the White House says... More
Tortoise to roll out robotic mobile smart stores in the US and UK
Consumers in New York, Chicago, Denver and other US cities as well as in London in the UK will soon be able to purchase items from remotely controlled robotic mobile vending machines with a tap of their contactless payment card or mobile wallet... More
OEM Pay ecommerce transaction volumes to exceed 30.7bn by 2026
Consumers worldwide will use payment services provided by smartphone makers and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to make more than 30.7bn ecommerce transactions by 2026, an increase of more than 24.5bn on the 6.1bn predicted for 2022, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
Banco Central do Brasil names CBDC project partners
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) has named the partner organisations that will support the next phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project... More
UK diabetes patients to get NFC insulin pens
Diabetes patients in the UK will soon be able to receive smart insulin pens that enable them to self-administer insulin, record dosing information for each injection and communicate data to a smartphone, tablet or other compatible device using NFC... More
Singapore adds digital driving licences to Singpass app
Residents of Singapore can now add a digital version of their driving licence to the country’s Singpass app and use it to verify their identity, the classes of vehicles they are certified to drive and updated information about merits or demerits they have accumulated... More
Shake Shack offers customers bitcoin rewards
Customers purchasing food and beverages from Shake Shack outlets in the US using the Cash App payments platform can opt to receive a 15% cashback reward in bitcoin... More